


The Day After

by Lastly



Series: Aloy & Vala [2]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:58:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastly/pseuds/Lastly
Summary: The time after the ambush on the Proving is hectic and chaotic but Aloy is able to find some semblance of peace.





	The Day After

_"Where is she"_ Aloy muttered to herself. As soon as she had been well enough to walk on her own, she had been shepherded to see the High Matriarchs. She had barely had enough time to realize that she had been taken into the Sacred Mountain before she was made Seeker of the Nora Tribe and tasked with finding a way to heal some sort of corruption that the Matriarchs believed the Mountain to be infected with.

Throughout the whole process, all she could think about was Vala. 

During the attack on the Proving, Aloy had done her best to fight off the invaders but so many of the Nora had fallen. And Vala... She needed to find Vala. When Aloy last saw her, she was badly injured but had managed to find a way away from the attackers. She hoped that the All-Mother had shown mercy and kept her alive. That she had found somewhere safe to hide and that one of the Nora that had driven away the last few invaders had found her and taken her back to Mother's Heart.

Aloy was frantic in her searching of the corridors of the Sacred Mountain. She questioned everyone she saw. Had they seen Vala? Where were the injured Nora being kept? Some people where helpful. Most of them were not. Every moment that she couldn't find Vala weighed on her. She needed to find her again. To see her again.

Someone eventually pointed her towards a makeshift infirmary that was hidden away down a series of corridors. They had said it was so well hidden just in case the invaders attacked again, they wanted to make sure that the injured were as safe as possible. Another attack. Aloy hadn't even considered that a possibility. It was because of her that they had attacked in the first place. It was because of her that all this had happened. She did her best to move her thoughts to Vala. She had to be here and Aloy needed to find her.

The infirmary was a quiet flurry of activity. The patients all rested on cots, most of them barely moving. They almost seemed... peaceful. Then there were the caretakers: frantically moving from one cot to the next, checking in on each patient and making sure they were being taken care of. Most of the patients weren't people she recognized from the Proving, so Aloy assumed that they must have been some of the Hunters the Matriarchs had told her about that tried to chase after the invaders when they fled the valley. The guilt started to creep back into Aloy's mind as her gaze flicked around the room. All these Braves injured. And there were probably quite a few that didn't even make it back to the infirmary.

Finally her gaze found what she was looking for and her heart skipped a beat. Aloy hurried as best as she could and maneuvered past a caretaker and knelt down next to Vala's cot. She felt tears form in her eyes as she looked at Vala - her eyes closed and her chest barely moving as she breathed. Aloy brushed a few stray strands of hair away from Vala's face and tucked them behind her ear. Vala's hair was drenched in sweat and Aloy felt the warmth of a fever when her hand brushed against Vala's skin. She was recovering but Aloy could tell that it was going to be a long and difficult process.

Aloy picked up Vala's hand and felt her friend's smooth skin once again. Friend? Partner? They had never really gotten a chance to figure out what they really were to each other. Aloy quickly dismissed the thought though as it wasn't exactly important what they called each other since they knew their feelings for each other were true. 

Vala began to stir, just ever so slightly, and Aloy let out a small but audible gasp. Vala tilted her head over just slightly and opened her eyes just wide enough to see Aloy's face.

"Good morning" Her voice was barely more than a whisper and it took all of Aloy's focus to hear her over the hustle and bustle of the infirmary. Aloy found herself at a momentary loss for words as happiness overrode every feeling and every thought in her mind.

"Hey" Aloy barely managed to eek out the single word in response. She fought the lump in her throat and wiped away a few tears that had made their way down her cheeks before finding more words.

"I... I'm so sorry Vala... you... they... it's all my fault and... I'm just so glad you're still here and..." Aloy stopped when she felt the slightest pressure as Vala squeezed her hand.

"Slow down, Aloy. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, you can take your time." Vala's clever grin returned to her face and Aloy couldn't hold back anymore and let the tears flow openly. She leaned down to Vala, wrapped and arm around her, and rested her head right next to Vala's.

"I love you, Vala." She whispered into Vala's ear so quietly that she wasn't sure that Vala could even hear her.

"I love you too, Aloy."


End file.
